Former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to Join Fox News as On-Air Contributor Starting November 1
Former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt will join Fox News as an on-air contributor starting November 1, providing commentary and analysis across the network's platforms. Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott announced the signing on Monday.
Leavitt, 29, served as the 36th White House Press Secretary during her second term from January 2025 to August 2026, making her the youngest in U.S. history. She took maternity leave after giving birth to her second child in May and left the podium at the end of August. The White House has not announced her successor. Donald Trump previously stated that she would step down and transition to an external advisor role.
Scott noted that her firsthand experience in the White House and presidential campaign team would provide viewers with insights into the current political landscape. Leavitt stated in a release that she would bring the perspective, strength, and candor from her tenure as Press Secretary to the network's audience, and referred to herself as continuing to appear as a formal member.
Before joining the White House, she was the national press secretary for Trump's 2024 campaign. In 2022, she ran as a Republican for New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District but lost to Democratic Congressman Chris Pappas. She also served as the communications director for then-House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik. During her first term, she interned in the Presidential Correspondence Office and worked as an assistant press secretary under then-Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany after graduating from college.
McEnany now works at the same network as a co-host of the midday show Outnumbered and hosts a Saturday program. Leavitt's contract position is as a contributor, not an anchor, with appearances covering multiple platforms of the network rather than a single time slot.
This is a talent contract, not a program overhaul. The buyer is a network needing former podium figures to fill commentary roles, while the seller is a former press secretary who left two months ago and has yet to have a successor announced. The funding flows towards appearance fees and viewer hours, without changing the White House's staffing. The beneficiaries are those who have already signed McEnany and are now adding the next secretary from the same office to the commentary lineup. The pressure remains on the White House, which still has not filled the podium vacancy, and other news networks competing for former government guests during the same time slot.
Source: Public Information
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The path from the White House podium to this television network has already been exemplified. Kayleigh McEnany left her position as Press Secretary during her first term to become a co-host of Outnumbered and host a Saturday program. Sean Spicer and Sarah Huckabee Sanders also entered paid speaking and cable commentary after leaving, rather than returning to campaign press roles. Leavitt's own history includes losing in the 2022 New Hampshire 1st District, serving as national press secretary in 2024, taking over the podium in January 2025, and leaving in August 2026 due to maternity leave after her second child.
This signing converts podium experience into cross-platform commentary slots, starting November 1. She is not taking over McEnany's hosting contract but is instead an on-air contributor, with her appearance scope determined by the network's scheduling. The White House has still not announced a successor by October 5, creating a simultaneous gap in podium personnel and commentary supply. Viewer hours and appearance fees are flowing to platforms with a former secretary's foundation, and the experience of serving as press secretary is being packaged as reusable firsthand material.
The comparable figure is McEnany, not Sanders, who transitioned into books and paid speaking after 2017. McEnany remains in fixed programming on the same network, while Leavitt enters the same audience pool first as a contributor. The industry position reflects an expansion of commentary capacity ahead of the midterm elections, rather than a reorganization of the news department.
Structurally, this represents a transfer of pricing power. The market value of government spokespersons is now priced by the network's scheduling after leaving, rather than being priced by questions at press briefings. The mechanism allows for consecutive secretaries from the same office to enter the same platform, enabling viewers to hear the original podium's perspective without changing channels. The vacant podium keeps the authority of administrative explanations within the White House, while signed commentators retain the distribution of explanatory power within the network.
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As the podium term ends, the authority of explanation shifts to scheduled pricing.
The next person from the same office often fills the same screen.
The vacant position still has a voice, just in the guest seat.